We have already reviewed one movie that emerged through the collaboration of Forest Ian Etsler and Sebastien Simon here in Asian Movie Pulse, and considering the rather unique approach of “The Troubled Troubadour” checking another of their work seemed like a rather interesting endeavor. Even more so, since “One-minded” seems to be their most successful one so far, screening in festivals all over the world and winning award from Chicago International and the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels Biarritz 2016.
“One-minded” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
A man who is sitting in the entrance of a block of flats watches two people who are obviously thieves, climbing down from a window of one apartment on a rope. Probably shocked but remaining cool, all he resorts in doing is offering one a cigarette, although in the end, their interaction remains minimal. In the next scene, a woman returns to an apartment whose owners seems to suffer from a “fear of the empty” since every part of it has something on it. She changes and gets out, while the camera mirrors the movement of a fan she opened when she got in, moving left and right inside the apartment.
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The two thieves we saw before enter the same apartment next, obviously some time before the initial scene occurred, and start checking for valuables. Someone enters the apartment however, a man who is about to have sex with the second woman living in the apartment, who was having a shower the whole time. As the first woman also returns, the one in the bathroom does not want her to know she has a man in, and she also tries to hide him, just like the two thieves.
Forest Ian Etsler and Sebastien Simon direct a movie that unfolds much like a stage play, considering that the overwhelming majority of its 20 minutes takes place in a small apartment. Their approach works well, particularly because they manage to fit so many characters in the particular space and create a rather hilarious story, that benefits the most from the ironic, dead pan humor. The initial and the last scene set the tone in that regard, but the fact that so many people are hidden in the same small space is also quite funny, particularly considering that two of the five are thieves and one a ‘secret lover' with a rather motley pair of underpants. The revelation of who the man in the building entrance is in the end, cements the humor element here.
Also of note is the way the two filmmakers use the fan as the point of view of the movie, in a rather original approach. However, the camera movement does become annoying after a fashion, particularly since it is lingering essentially in the same two parts of the apartment for the larger part of the short. Furthermore, when the fan is dropped in the ground sideways, the camera also turns in the same fashion, although thankfully for just a bit. Lastly, the Ashtavakra Gita, mentioned in the beginning and the end of the movie by a child's voice, seems somewhat disconnected from the whole movie, although this could be also attributed to the fact that I am not at all versed at the meaning of the particular text.
On the other hand, the acting is on a high level, even if the majority of the protagonists just get only a few lines. Choi Heeseo as Gertrude and Joo Yaerin as Alice exhibit a wonderful chemistry that entails all parts of the roommates' relationship, as some complaints do happen behind each other's back, but their love for each other also becomes evident. Ryu Junyeol as the lover boy is definitely the one who steals the show, both for his attitude within and outside the apartment.
“One-minded” does get a bit annoying, but in general, is a very smartly-shot, very funny short, that highlights the abilities of both its filmmakers in the best fashion.
